New delivery auction websites save money and CO2

I recently got a courier to bring a large cupboard from Manchester to my flat in central London, but for about a sixth of the cost I was expecting. What's more, I had about a dozen different men with vans, courier companies and removal firms all clamouring to get the job.

True, it was a fantastically good-looking cupboard. But there was a more pressing reason: I was using a website called Shiply -- a website which works like eBay, only instead of having people bid upwards to buy your old sofas, delivery companies undercut each other downwards in auctions to deliver them.

But Shiply's no longer alone in this business, and more companies are starting up to compete. I recently tried out a similar website, AnyVan. It launched over a year after Shiply, but offers a very similar service. The problem these sites tackle is simple: Removal firms travel from one side of the country to the other, drop off the entire contents of somebody's home, then return back to base with an empty van.

What sites like Shiply and AnyVan are doing is allowing those removal firms to find something to transport on the return journey. And, because it's seen as something of a bonus delivery, they're happy to accept just a few quid for the job, and AnyVan makes its money by taking a cut of the final bid (from the delivery firm, not you).

I got a cupboard and a full-size electric piano from Manchester to London Bridge, for less than £40. But it's a business model that favours delivery firms as much as it does the people who need stuff delivering. All I had to do was list what I wanted transporting, where it was going from, where it was going to and when I'd like it to be moved. It cost nothing to list the job. Then, over the following hours and days, bids from delivery specialists rolled in: £150, £120, £100, £60, £50, £45, £42, £40, £35. I just had to have a look at who was bidding and choose someone to do the job.

But more adventurous deliveries have been made internationally, says AnyVan founder Angus Elphinstone, who talked to Wired this week via email.

I asked him about the possibility of adapting AnyVan's model to fit other modes of transport. "We would never totally shun the idea of expanding into more global shipping solutions," he told me. "A recent shipment of furniture from Scotland to Australia was delivered within a container, as part of another shipment already going there.

"We have already seen international shipments such as Dubai to Libya, as well as a house move from the UK to France, Antiques from Denmark to the UK and many more successful international ones."

There is, of course, an element of risk involved. Just as eBay can play host to rogue sellers, so, too, can delivery auction sites play host to rogue vans, or as I've decided to call them, "worrier couriers". AnyVan tackles the problem in a similar way to eBay. "Our process of screening our transport providers is one of linking them to a fixed registered address," Elphinstone told me. "This comes in the way of a welcome pack that is sent out to all the transport providers that register on the site. In this pack is a unique verification passkey which transport providers need to enter when logged in. Once they have done this their status will change from unverified to verified."

But he addressed my problem directly: "Having an unverified status does not prevent anyone from using the site. However, for the very reasons that you have raised, a company that remains unverified and has no history is less likely to win any jobs."

It transpires that as with eBay, vigilance is key. But it could reward you with a veritable bargain.

So could such delivery auction sites become a solid way of getting X from A to B in the F (future)? In my experience at least, it really could be for one-off large jobs -- just as eBay and classified ads are for one-off sellings-of-massive-bits-of-old-crap.

It's unlikely to appeal to people needing to send tens or hundreds of items each week, as it could become quite a time-consuming process. But when you need to deliver a new quad bike, a biodiesel processor, or need a motorbike taking to Arzachena, Italy (all deliveries genuinely completed through AnyVan), then I believe this can -- and should -- become your first consideration, and a very green one at that.

Comments

It's a good idea but nothing new. Anyvan has copied Shiply, Shiply copied uShip, and so it goes on. No doubt someone will be copying Anyvan shortly too.

Karen

Jun 2nd 2010

In reply to Karen

It's no crime to have a similar business model to someone else, and it doesn't automatically mean there's any copying going on either. There are plenty of others going down this route, deliveryquotecompare and deliverysupermarket.com to name two.

Richard

Oct 25th 2011

Its seems to be good idea. Thanks for sharing this. We at googlefive provide a very interesting bidding services.

Yahoo Auction japan

Oct 22nd 2010

, and AnyVan makes its money by taking a cut of the final bid (from the delivery firm, not you).

yeah, so tell me how the delivery firm pays it? truth is the delivery company does not see this money, so how can it pay? you pay deposit which is retained by web site, and the rest you can pay direct to delivery firm.

raf

Nov 6th 2010

COPIED FROM USHIP!uShip and Shiply Announce Settlement of Their Legal DisputeLONDON, February 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- uShip, Shiply and Robert Matthams today 24th February 2011 jointly announced a settlement regarding uShip's claims of trademark and copyright infringement brought in the High Court in London. As part of the settlement, Shiply has agreed to redesign its web site, and pay an amount in compensation to uShip."We have already redesigned our website, and have agreed to implement further changes to our logo and other element at issue. We hope that it will remove any chance of association between uShip and Shiply for customers, transporters and the community," said Mr Matthams, who is Shiply's managing director."uShip.com has been copied by dozens of competitors since we launched our innovative transport marketplace in 2004," said Matt Chasen, CEO and founder of uShip. "As this litigation shows, we will vigorously defend our intellectual property rights in Europe, the U.S., and other parts of the world."

dave

Feb 26th 2011

Very interesting concept that may reshape the transportation world all together. Small moving companies like HomeRemovalServices will have to adjust quickly to keep up with these so-called auction sites to be able to make a difference.

Stephen

Feb 26th 2011

These sites are just one way of bringing the transport industry to its knees with fuel prices on the rise and diding to the lowest realy dosent work. What ever happend to getting real money for real jobs there should be a set price for a job set in place as we carnt go to a garage and bid for fuel and the only ppl that make out of this is the site opperators with the fees and the customer having a delivery for peanuts. These sites should be banned and let us get on with a delivery the way it should be, no wonder couriers go BUST with them sort of prices And the industry should be regulated in price to stop us going bust. What ever happend to us picking the phone up to win the the job why bid and kill the industry!.

Andy

Mar 15th 2011

Have you checked out their commissions on completed deliveries? They charge a minimum fee of £5.00 to the driver, who obviously adds this in when quoting. What percentage of cheap is £5.00 ???? Thanks a lot!!

www.imoveit.co.uk

May 5th 2011

I run a small transport business and have tried several of these sites. I cannot believe how low some of the prices are, they would certainly not cover our business costs or time and would not really be worth the effort even for a return run. I would question whether many of these businesses bidding for jobs on these sites are fully insured, are operating within the legal driver hours/tachograph and employers rules. If they are, then they cannot possibly be making a profit.

Richard

Nov 7th 2012

I have had the pleasure of should I say the displeasure of trying both Shipley and Anyvan. The first lot of courier services I got from Shiply could not manage the job, and this went out to three transport providers. I was not necessarily looking for the cheapest but the most reliable, as this is what makes a business. The transport providers did not read the customer's requirements, delivery preferences or indeed the measurements, even with uploaded photographs of the item needing removal. I got my money back from Shiply on on cases and lost out on the product. I have this week tried Anyvan for an ebay auction, and as of today, there has been nil communication about delivery, collection or any problems they may be. My client has not gone out and will not be there until next weekend for another collection try. I have tried several times to contact Anyvan and the transport provider and to no avail. Mobiles, websites and the like, are not responding. I now have to try another transport company as I am sure the ANYVAN provider cannot manage the job. I have bee trying their contact numbers since Friday and I have no idea if the delivery and collection is taken place or not! Great ideas, these websites but in realit you are the lucky one if it all goes smoothly.